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Memoir  of  Jared  Sparks 

by 
z  Mayer 


University  of  California 

Southern  Regional 

Library  Facility 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


jepuig 


OP 


JAKEI)SPARKS,LLI). 


JEtatis,  XL. 


MEMOIR 


OF 


JARED  SPARKS,  LLD. 


BY    BRA  XT/    MAYER 

/'/••.*/''•///  i,i  tli,  M'lr'f/'iii'l  II 


PREPARED   AT   THE    REQUEST   OK   THE   SOCIETY, 


AND  HEAD  IJKKOIM-:   ITS  ANNUAL  MEETING. 


On  Thursday  Evening,  February  7,  1867. 


t 

PRINTED  FOR  THE  MARYLAND  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY, 

BY  JOHN    MURPHY. 

BALTIMORE,  1867. 


I15.S 

573  M4- 


MEMOIR. 


has  been  a  sad  but  not  entirely 
v  unpleasant  duty  to  prepare,  at  the 
*  request  of  the  Maryland  Historical 
Society,  a  brief  memoir  of  one  of 
our  earliest  and  most  distinguished 
f  Honorary  Members,  the  late  JARED 
SPARKS,  LL.D.  The  duty,  though 
sad,  is  not  without  a  pleasant  rec- 
ompense, for  the  eulogium  which  a  long-contin- 
ued friendship  and  intercourse  demand  can  be 
bestowed  with  cordial  truth. 

Mr.  Sparks  was  what  we  call,  in  America,  a  self- 
made  man.  Although  his  life  is  a  fair  illustration  of 
what  an  industrious  person  of  talent  and  common 
sense  may  compass  by  decision  of  character  and  a 
high  aim,  my  object  in  these  observations  is  not  to 
draw  from  his  biography  what  has  been  aptly  called 
"  ostentatious  precepts  and  impertinent  lessons." 
By  a  self-made  man  I  do  not  mean  to  class  Mr. 
Sparks  with  that  large  and  influential  body  of  citi- 
zens whose  portraits  adorn  the  illustrated  news- 
papers, and  whose  memoirs  disclose  the  opinion 
2  3 


511692 


that  the  making  of  a  great  deal  of  money  is  the 
making  of  a  very  exemplary  man.  When  I  speak 
of  Mr.  Sparks  as  a  self-made  man  I  use  the  phrase 
in  a  sense  of  intellectual  progress  and  success, 
founded  on  self-relying  discipline, — of  mental  cul- 
ture and  mental  fruit,  bringing  him  up  to  honor- 
able fame  from  low  obscurity,  —  making  him  a 
lasting  power  in  our  nation,  nay,  throughout  the 
world,  in  our  best  society,  in  our  literature,  in  our 
institutions  of  learning ;  and,  finally,  bestowing  on 
him  the  just  pecuniary  rewards  always  due,  yet 
seldom  obtained  in  America,  by  intellectual  pur- 
suits alone. 

Jared  Sparks,  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Eleanor 
Orcutt  Sparks,  was  born  in  Willington,  Connec- 
ticut, on  the  10th  of  May,  1789.  The  dawn  of 
his  life  was  overshadowed  by  poverty.  I  do  not 
know  the  character  or  pursuits  of  his  parents,  but 
certainly  they  were  very  poor ;  nor  have  I  found 
any  record  of  their  early  care  over  the  child,  or, 
that  his  youth  was  comforted  by  the  love  and  soci- 
ety of  a  brother  or  sister.  The  most  reliable  account 
I  have  received  of  his  infancy  shows  that  he  went, 
with  the  childless  sister  of  his  mother,  and  her  way- 
ward husband,  to  Washington  county,  New  York, 
and  that  the  eager  boy  obtained  the  scant  elements 
of  education  at  the  public  schools  of  those  days  ; 
working,  at  the  same  time,  on  a  farm  for  his  liveli- 
hood, and  sometimes  serving  a  dilapidated  saw-mill, 


(his  uncle's  last  resource,)  whose  slow  movements 
afforded  him  broken  hours  to  pour  over  a  copy  of 
Guthrie's  Geography,  which  he  always  spoke  of  as 
a  "real  treasure." 

Thus,  there  were  no  external  influences  to  bring 
forth  whatever  powers  were  inborn  in  his  character. 
Probably,  it  was  in  spite  of  those  influences  that  he 
became  a  man  of  mark.  His  aunt,  kind  at  all 
times,  is  chiefly  remembered  for  her  gentleness  and 
beauty ;  his  mother,  for  her  devotion  to  reading, 
and  mainly  to  the  constant  study  of  Josephus ; 
while  the  grandmother  of  these  ladies,  Bethiah 
Parker,  is  mentioned  as  a  singular  enthusiast,  who 
left  to  her  posterity  a  manuscript  volume  of  poems 
and  letters  peculiar  only  from  the  fact  that,  while 
they  are  vehicles  of  religious  fervor,  they  are  also 
autobiographical  sketches,  in  which  she  discloses  (in 
1757)  her  prophetic  visions  of  the  "  terrible  times 
that  are  to  come  among  the  nations."  There  may 
have  been  some  inheritance  by  the  youth  from  his 
mother  of  a  fondness  for  books,  for  he  always 
spoke  of  her  with  great  respect  as  a  superior 
woman  ;  but  the  probability  is  that  the  intellect- 
ual turn  of  his  mind  originated  within  itself,  and 
was  cherished  by  the  affection  he  felt,  and  every- 
where inspired  as  a  boy,  and  the  personal  interest 
with  which  such  a  disposition  is  always  repaid. 
His  impressible  mind  was,  doubtless,  affected  by 
the  grand  or  beautiful  scenery  amid  which  his 


early  life  was  passed.  He  was  a  bright  pupil  of 
all  his  teachers.  One  of  them  he  so  soon  excelled 
in  acquirements  that  the  honest  pedagogue  frankly 
advised  him  to  seek  an  abler  instructor.  But  that 
boon  was  not  to  be  at  once  or  easily  obtained,  for 
Jared  was  too  poor  to  follow  the  master's  advice ; 
and,  becoming  apprenticed  to  a  carpenter,  he 
wrought  at  his  trade  for  two  years,  still  employ- 
ing his  spare  time  in  study.  He  borrowed  and 
mastered  a  common  sailor's  book  on  navigation. 
He  taught  himself  the  names  and  positions  of 
the  stars,  and  how  to  calculate  the  simpler  prob- 
lems of  astronomy,  the  higher  mysteries  of  which 
he  also  strove  to  unravel.  For  this  purpose,  he 
bought  a  large  wooden  ball,  on  which  he  marked 
the  stars  and  traced  the  course  of  a  celebrated 
comet ;  and  finally  he  succeeded  in  calculating  an 
eclipse.  At  sixteen,  he  seems  to  have  lost  entirely 
the  care  of  his  aunt  and  uncle,  so  that  he  was 
adrift  in  the  world  from  that  early  period.  But, 
his  gentle  and  intellectual  character  had  made 
him  friends.  His  conduct  wras  observed  in  that 
'New  England  neighborhood,  where  such  indica- 
tions of  worth  are  not  only  praised  but  protected. 
His  employer,  seeing  the  tendency  of  his  mind  and 
appreciating  his  talent,  voluntarily  released  him 
from  indenture,  and  his  first  impulse  upon  eman- 
cipation was  to  become,  himself,  a  schoolmaster. 
He  applied,  at  once,  to  the  local  authorities.  The 


school-committee  examined  and  passed  him ;  and 
being  thus  pronounced  able  to  instruct,  he  taught 
in  a  small  district  on  the  outskirts  of  Tolland,  until 
the  scholars  ceased  coming  during  the  summer, 
when  Jared,  for  lack  of  means,  was  obliged  to 
return  for  support  to  his  saw  and  chisel. 

Fortunately,  however,  he  was  not  detained  long 
at  the  work-bench.  The  story  of  a  carpenter-boy 
studying  Euclid  and  solving  algebraic  problems, 
made  a  stir  in  the  village  of  Willington,  where  he 
then  lived.  jS^or  could  the  eager  youth  any  longer 
study  alone.  Sparks  became  restless  under  the 
double  goad  of  his  ambition  and  his  disadvant- 
ages, and  plucking  up  courage,  one  day  marched 
bravely  into  the  presence  of  the  Rev.  Hubbell 
Loomis,  an  intelligent  and  cultivated  clergyman, 
requesting  his  counsel  and  instruction.  Mr.  Loo- 
mis  examined  him  carefully,  and,  taking  him  as  an 
inmate  of  his  house,  taught  him  mathematics  gratu- 
itously, and  induced  him  to  commence  the  study  of 
Greek  and  Latin,  encouraging  the  spirit  of  inde- 
pendence— which  was  very  lively  in  Sparks — by 
allowing  him  to  shingle  his  barn  as  partial  com- 
pensation for  board  and  tuition. 

Hitherto,  the  life  of  a  schoolmaster  had  been  his 
utmost  ambition,  and  the  trials  he  made  satisfied 
him  that,  with  his  love  of  knowledge  and  desire  to 
impart  it,  he  would  ultimately  be  able  to  succeed. 
The  prospect  of  a  college  course  had  not  yet  dawned 


on  him.  But,  from  his  patron  Loomis  to  others  of 
greater  influence  the  carpenter's  merit  spread  wider 
and  wider,  until  the  Rev.  Abiel  Abbott,  then  a 
clergyman  at  Coventry,  Connecticut,  procured  for 
him  a  scholarship  at  Phillips  Exeter  Academy, 
upon  a  benevolent  foundation,  to  which  meritorious 
pupils  of  limited  means  were  admitted  without 
charge  for  board  and  instruction.  On  the  4th  of 
September,  1809,  he  left  Tolland,  Connecticut,  and 
walked  the  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  to  Exeter, 
JSTew  Hampshire,  becoming  a  scholar  of  the  Acad- 
emy for  two  years.  Here  he  first  met,  as  fellow 
pupils,  his  life-long  friends,  Palfrey  and  Bancroft. 
He  studied  diligently,  and  made  rapid  progress ; 
yet,  anxious  to  preserve  his  independence,  and  to 
obtain  what  was  necessary  for  his  personal  com- 
fort without  further  tax  on  friends  or  obligation 
to  strangers,  he  taught,  during  one  winter  of  these 
two  years,  a  school  at  Rochester  in  New  Hamp- 
shire. In  one  of  his  memorandums  he  sums  up 
his  tuition  thus  :  "  the  whole  amount  of  my  school- 
ing was  about  forty  months,  which  was  the  length 
of  time  I  attended  school  before  I  was  twenty  years 
old." 

But  the  great  hope  of  his  heart — a  hope  that  had 
been  gradually  kindled — was  at  last  to  be  realized, 
and,  in  1811,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  through  the 
active  interest  of  President  Kirkland,  Sparks 
entered  Harvard  University,  on  a  Pennoyer  schol- 


9 


arship.  Yet,  the  res  anyusta  domi  pursued  him  still. 
It  is  said,  that,  "in  consequence  partly  of  ill  health 
and  partly  of  poverty,"  he  was  unable  to  pass  more 
than  two  entire  years,  of  his  four,  at  Cambridge.  To 
eke  out  a  slender  but-  necessary  income,  he  obtained 
leave  of  absence  during  parts  of  his  Freshman  and 
Sophomore  years,  and  spent  the  time  as  a  private 
teacher  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Mark  Pringie,  at  Havre 
de  Grace,  Maryland.  He  was  there  when  the 
British,  under  Admiral  Cockburn,  plundered  and 
partly  destroyed  the  village ;  and  here,  probably, 
he  enjoyed  the  only  military  experience  of  his  life, 
by  serving,  as  a  private,  in  the  Maryland  militia, 
called  out  to  guard  the  neighborhood.  The  in- 
habitants, it  is  related,  generally  fled  to  the  woods, 
and  but  few,  among  whom  was  Sparks,  remained 
to  witness  the  barbarous  behaviour  of  the  enemy. 
Fifteen  months  of  this  leave  of  absence  were,  thus, 
spent  in  our  State,  in  the  bosom  of  an  excellent  and 
refined  family,  by  whose  members  he  was  warmly 
esteemed ;  and,  at  length,  he  received  his  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts,  at  Harvard,  with  the  class  of 
1815. 

His  college  course,  notwithstanding  its  interrup- 
tions, was  successful.  President  Kirkland  used  to 
say,  in  his  quaint  way,  "  Sparks  is  not  only  a  man, 
but  a  man  and  a-half."  He  graduated  with  high 
honors.  In  his  senior  year  he  gained  the  Bowdoin 
prize  for  an  essay  on  the  physical  discoveries  of 


10 


Sir  Isaac  Newton,  an  essay  which  is  remembered 
in  the  traditions  of  the  University  as  "a  master- 
piece of  analytic  exposition,  philosophical  method, 
lucid  and  exact  statement." 

This  successful  essay  was,  perhaps,  the  key  of  his 
life  and  character,  for  his  mind  was  emphatically 
clear,  exact,  analytic,  mathematical ;  and  through- 
out his  career,  the  same  qualities  were  distinct  in 
whatever  he  investigated  or  wrote.  It  has,  indeed, 
been  said  that  his  merits  were  already  recognized 
by  the  rival  University  of  Yale,  and  that  offers  for 
his  removal  thither  had  been  made  during  one 
of  his  years  at  Harvard ;  but  the  friendly  influ- 
ence of  Dr.  Kirkland  prevailed  over  those  allure- 
ments, and  he  remained  constant  to  his  patron  and 
college. 

The  years  1816  and  1817  were  passed  by  the 
graduate  in  teaching  a  private  school  at  Lancas- 
ter, Massachusetts.  He  finished  his  college  course 
at  the  advanced  age  of  twenty-six,  and  had  now 
added  two  years  more  to  the  score.  At  Lancaster 
he  cultivated  those  habits  of  methodical  industry 
which  always  characterized  him  afterwards.  Soon 
after  undertaking  the  school,  he  wrote :  "I  board 
at  Major  Carter's,  a  mile  and  a  quarter  from  my 
school,  to  and  from  which  I  walk  twice  a  day. 
I  rose  this  morning  an  hour  before  sunrise,  and 
rode  five  or  six  miles  before  breakfast,  an  exercise 
which  I  shall  continue  regularly.  My  school 


11 


occupies  six  hours,  and  I  have  resolved  to  devote, 
and  thus  far,  have  devoted,  six  hours  of  the 
twenty-four  to  study."  Before  this,  he  has  a 
memorandum  of  walking  from  Cambridge  to  Bol- 
ton,  twenty-six  miles;  setting  out  at  half-past 
one,  and  arriving  at  Bolton  at  eight  in  the 
evening. 

In  1817,  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight,  and  two 
years  after  graduation,  his  alma  mater  recogniz- 
ing the  tendency  of  his  mind  towards  the  exact 
sciences,  as  well  as  the  extent  of  his  acquirements, 
chose  him  tutor  in  Mathematics  and  Natural 
Philosophy  at  Harvard.  There  also,  very  soon 
afterwards,  chiefly  under  the  instruction  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Ware,  who  was  then  the  Hollis  Pro- 
fessor, he  commenced  the  study  of  divinity,  pur- 
suing it  zealously  during  two  years,  being,  at  the 
same  time,  the  "working  editor"  of  the  North 
American  Review.  Its  numbers  from  May,  1817, 
to  March,  1819,  inclusive,  were  edited  by  him. 
In  May,  of  the  latter  year,  at  the  age  of  thirty, 
he  was  called  to  Baltimore  and  ordained  in  this 
city  as  the  first  pastor  of  the  Unitarian  church 
which  had  just  been  erected.  On  this  memorable 
occasion,  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Ellery  Channing 
preached  that  discourse  in  exposition  of  the  Uni- 
tarian faith,  which  has  been  so  widely  celebrated, 
published,  and  ij.ead  in  America  and  Europe :  a 
discourse  which  is  said  to  have  "  caused  more 
3 


remark  on  its  theological  views,  while  more  con- 
troversy grew  out  of  the  statement  of  doctrines 
therein  declared,  than  any  single  religious  dis- 
course in  this  country  ever  occasioned." 

As  clergyman  of  this  congregation,  Mr.  Sparks 
remained  a  resident  of  our  city  for  four  years. 
He  is  well  remembered  in  the  families  of  his  own 
church  and  of  other  religious  societies,  among 
whose  members  his  firm  but  genial  manners 
always  made  the  studious  and  estimable  gentle- 
man a  welcome  guest.  He  was  a  steadfast 
laborer  among  his  congregation ;  but  the  ulti- 
mate literary  drift  of  his  life  wras  already  begin- 
ning to  develop  itself,  having  probably  received 
an  impetus  from  his  editorial  task  on  the  North 
American  Review.  In  addition  to  his  clerical 
duty  in  Baltimore,  he  did  a  great  deal  of  work  in 
editing  the  Unitarian  Miscellany,  in  publishing 
his  well-known  Letters  on  the  Comparative  Moral 
tendency  of  the  Unitarian  and  Trinitarian  Doc- 
trines, which  drew  on  him  the  controversial  notice 
of  that  renowned  champion,  Dr.  Miller,  of  Prince- 
ton, and  produced  a  discussion,  which,  instead  of 
estranging  the  combatants,  strengthened  their  per- 
sonal relations,  and  increased  their  mutual  con- 
fidence and  respect.  In  after  years,  when  Mr. 
Sparks  required  a  Life  of  Jonathan  Edwards  for 
his  American  Biography,  he  selected  Dr.  Miller 
to  write  it,  and,  in  the  truly  liberal  spirit  that 


13 


always  governed  his  editorial  labors,  and,  indeed, 
his  whole  literary  life,  published  the  memoir  of 
the  great  Calvanist  "without  the  alteration  of  a 
single  word."  It  was  here,  too,  in  Baltimore,  in 
consequence  of  a  sermon  against  Unitarianism  by 
the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  E.  Wyatt,  of  St.  Paul's, 
that  Mr.  Sparks  published  his  volume  of  Letters 
on  the  Ministry,  Ritual,  and  Doctrines  of  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Church.  It  was  in  Baltimore, 
in  1822,  that  he  arranged  and  began  the  repub- 
lication  of  Essays  and  Tracts  in  Theology  by 

•/  O«/  «/ 

Wm.  Penn,  Bishop  Hoadley,  ]N"ewton,  Whitby, 
Evelyn,  Locke,  and  others.  It  was  in  Balti- 
more, also,  during  his  religious  ministry,  that  he 
received  the  flattering  tribute  from  Congress  of 
being  elected  its  Chaplain.  This  was  a  great 
honor,  won  in  ten  years,  by  the  Harvard  student 
of  1811 ;  and  although  his  election  alarmed  the 
clergy  and  laity  of  other  Christian  denominations, 
and  a  member  of  Congress  declared  they  had 
"  voted  Christ  out  of  the  House,"  still,  in  time, 
Congress  learned  to  know  him  better,  to  admit 
the  tolerance  of  his  catholic  spirit,  and  to  honor 
him  with  increased  confidence.  But,  in  1823, 
after  four  years  of  labor  in  our  city,  Mr.  Sparks's 
health  became  so  much  impaired  that  he  resolved 
to  retire  from  the  Church  entirely,  and  devote 
himself  exclusively  to  literature.  Yet,  he  always 
loved  Baltimore ;  he  always  met  the  people  with 


14 


warmth,  and  recurred  joyfully  to  the  happy  years 
he  spent  in  Maryland  as  teacher  and  minister. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  late  rebellion  he  wrote  to 
me  concerning  an  address  published  by  one  of  our 
patriotic  citizens:  "I  could  not,"  said  he,  "but 
approve  most  highly  its  candor  and  independent 
tone,  and  the  enlightened  and  just  views  it  pre- 
sented of  our  public  affairs.  It  furnished  a  dem- 
onstration that  there  were  brave  spirits  and  true 
in  your  city,  notwithstanding  the  misgivings  which 
many,  in  this  quarter,  had,  at  that  time,  begun  to 
indulge.  Most  heartily  do  I  wish  prosperity,  good 
fortune,  and  success  to  Baltimore.  With  no  place 
have  I  more  deeply  cherished  associations.  May 
peace,  quiet,  and  brotherly  sympathies  prevail 
within  her  borders."  And  again,  at  a  later  day, 
he  wrote  in  the  same  strain  of  affectionate  mem- 
ory of  our  city  and  its  people :  "  I  take  a  lively 
interest  in  all  that  concerns  Maryland  both  present 
and  past.  I  have  not  forgotten  that  my  home  was 
once  there.  I  have  many  and  deeply  cherished 
recollections  of  Baltimore,  which  will  remain  in 
my  heart  and  mind  while  the  power  of  memory 
continues  to  act.  The  order  of  Providence  and 
strange  events  have  produced  changes,  but  it  is 
Baltimore,  still."  Such  were  the  sentiments  of  this 
excellent  man  towards  our  state,  and  city,  and 
people.  They  continued  to  be  cherished  bv  him 


to  the  last  hour  of  his  life,  and  were  warmly 
repeated  to  me  in  one  of  the  last  letters  he  ever 
wrote,  received  but  a  day  or  two  before  his  death. 
He  left  Baltimore  reluctantly ;  his  congregation 
parted  with  him  painfully,  and  its  farewell  letter, 
written  and  signed  by  the  late  Chancellor  of  our 
state,  Theodorick  Bland,  bears  the  most  honor- 
able testimony  to  the  success  of  his  pastoral 
labors. 

Yet,  probably,  it  was  not  ill  health  alone  that 
determined  Mr.  Sparks's  removal  to  Boston.  I 
think  he  had  already  set  his  heart  on  the  great 
themes  of  National  History,  and  resolved,  if  pos- 
sible, to  pursue  the  work  faithfully  by  the  acqui- 
sition of  the  vast  and  scattered  materials  it  needed. 
Upon  his  arrival  in  Massachusetts  in  1823,  he  pur- 
chased the  North  American  Review,  and  became 
its  sole  editor  from  January,  1824,  to  April,  1830. 
In  these  seven  years  his  industrious  pen  contrib- 
uted no  less  than  fifty  articles,  many  of  profound 
study,  and  all  adding  to  the  solid  critical  literature 
of  America.  It  was  in  1828  that  he  made  his 
first  elaborate  biographical  essay  in  the  attractive 
Life  of  John  Ledyard,  the  American  Traveller. 
About  this  time,  too,  good  fruits  were  borne  to 
him  by  his  previous  residence  in  Baltimore  and 
the  acquaintance  he  had  made  with  the  illustrious 
men  who,  in  those  days,  were  found  every  winter 


16 


in  Washington.  In  that  city  his  worth  had  been 
recognized  by  the  descendants  of  prominent  revo- 
lutionary personages,  by  leading  legislators  and 
public  functionaries  from  the  several  States,  and, 
particularly,  by  such  persons  as  Chief  Justice 
Marshall,  the  biographer  of  Washington,  and  his 
nephew  Bushrod  Washington  and  Mr.  Justice 
Story,  both,  at  that  time,  Associate  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  Thenceforward,  the  idea  that  had 
taken  possession  of  his  mind  on  the  temporary  fail- 
ure of  his  health  at  Baltimore — "  the  city  of  noble 
souls,  of  large-hearted  men,"  as  he  was  wont  to 
call  it — became  the  ruling  purpose  of  his  life.  He 
was  to  run  the  career  of  a  man  of  letters,  and  in  a 
country  hardly  ripe  for  literary  production.  Amer- 
ican history  was  to  be  his  occupation ;  all  things 
else  became  subservient  to  this  great  purpose.  He 
had  conceived  the  project  of  collecting  the  corres- 
pondence of  Washington,  and  of  gathering  all  the 
accessible  documents  in  this  country  and  Europe 
necessary  for  an  authentic  life  of  the  great  chief. 
On  his  first  application  for  the  Washington  manu- 
scripts, which  Mr.  Justice  Bushrod  Washington  had 
intended  to  edit,  Mr.  Sparks  was  told,  much  as  he 
was  respected,  he  could  by  no  means  have  them. 
Yet,  his  journal  of  that  date  has  no  complaining, 
despondent  mention  of  the  rebuff,  for,  on  that  very 
day  he  set  forth  from  the  city  of  Washington  on 


17 


his  journey  to  the  South,  in  quest  of  other  mate- 
rials ;  and,  with  a  light,  confident,  indefatigable 
spirit,  went  on  patiently  collecting  them  from 
public  and  private  sources,  everywhere  finding 
profitable  work,  and,  with  marvellous  keenness 
and  sagacity,  choosing  and  appropriating  what- 
ever he  should  want  for  the  great  task  which  it 
was  his  destiny  to  accomplish.  Our  archives  at 
Annapolis,  scant  and  neglected  as  they  unfortu- 
nately are,  still  bear  marks  of  his  diligence ;  and, 
years  after  his  task  was  completed  in  our  State 
House,  I  have  found,  among  our  documents,  the 
frequent  traces  of  his  minute  and  accurate  labors. 
This,  I  am  told,  was  a  life-long  trait  of  his  prepa- 
ration, for  he  always  provided  himself  with  every 
species  of  preliminary  information  which  could 
lead  to  what  he  did  not  possess,  in  case,  at  some 
future  day,  it  might  become  useful  or  necessary. 
His  memorandums,  therefore,  were  copious  and 
explicit,  Indeed,  he  became  so  familiar  with  the 
archives  of  the  several  States,  that  from  his  study 
in  Massachusetts,  he  could  readily,  without  a 
fresh  journey,  command  the  desired  documents, 
and  always  indicate  the  department,  and,  'gene- 
rally, the  shelf,  book,  or  bundle  in  which  the 
coveted  manuscript  was  to  be  found  by  his  cor- 
respondents. And,  so  he  went  on  cheerily  from 
state  to  state  and  family  to  family,  increasing  his 


18 


national  treasures,  until,  at  last,  the  richest  of  the 
American  collections  was  yielded  to  him  by  the 
Washington  family  and  the  government.  The 
manuscripts  at  Mount  Vernon — the  entire  cor- 
respondence of  Washington  and  his  papers  — 
arranged  by  him  in  more  than  two  hundred  folio 
volumes ;  the  state  papers  of  the  "  old  thirteen," 
and  the  private  papers  of  many  of  the  civil  and 
military  leaders  of  the  Revolution,  were  opened 
to  his  inspection,  and  some  of  them  actually  placed 
in  his  possession  for  ten  years,  while  engaged  in 
the  composition  of  his  great  work. 

This  would  have  been  anxious  labor  even  for  a 
man  of  leisure,  robust  health,  and  a  fortune  that 
secured  him  from  all  care  for  present  support  or 
comfort.  But  Sparks  was  still  poor,  and,  while 
engaged  in  this  expensive  preliminary  task  of 
mere  accumulation — a  task  that  might  produce 
profitable  results  after  many  years — he  was  also 
obliged  to  provide  for  the  needs  of  the  passing- 
day.  His  ready  talent  and  economical  habits 
enabled  him  to  do  it.1  Nor  did  he  rest  satisfied 
with  what  he  found  in  the  United  States  or  could 
gain  by  correspondence  from  abroad.  He  went  to 
Europe  to  complete  his  researches ;  and  the  na- 


1  He  good-humoredly  described  himself  as  "dependent  on  his  wits  and  daily  exer- 
tions for  a  living;  and  this,  too,  with  small  abilities  for  making,  and  still  less  for 
keeping,  mi,ney." 


19 


tional  and  private  archives  of  France  and  England, 
which  had  hitherto  been  closed  to  American  stu- 
dents, were  soon  unlocked  for  him  through  the 
personal  solicitations  in  his  favor  of  Sir  James 
Mackintosh,  Mr.  Lockhart,  Mr.  Hamilton,  Lord 
Landsdowne,  and  Lord  Holland,  in  Great  Britain, 
and  of  General  Lafayette,  Monsieur  Guizot,  and 
Monsieur  de  Marbois  in  France ; — another  proud 
achievement  by  the  charity  student  of  1811.  I  may 
add  here,  at  once,  that  Mr.  Sparks  paid  a  second 
visit  to  Europe  in  1840,  in  order  to  examine  its 
archives ;  on  that  occasion,  discovering,  in  the 
French  cabinet,  the  original  letter  of  Franklin  and 
the  famous  map  with  our  North-eastern  boundary 
delineated  bv  a  "  red  line,"  which  were  so  much 

t/ 

discussed  in  the  subsequent  negotiations  with  Great 
Britain  in  regard  to  our  limits  in  that  quarter. 

The  first  fruits  of  these  domestic  and  foreign 
studies  was  Mr.  Sparks's  valuable  publication,  in 
1829-30,  of  the  Diplomatic  Correspondence  of  the 
Revolution ;  followed,  after  two  years,  by  the  Life 
of  Gouverneur  Morris,  with  selections  from  his  cor- 
respondence and  miscellaneous  papers.  In  1830, 
he  originated  and  edited  that  excellent  annual,  so 
long  a  favorite  in  our  country,  known  as  the 
American  Almanac  ;  and,  about  the  same  time,  he 
began  his  Library  of  American  Biography,  extend- 
ing, in  two  series,  to  twenty-five  volumes,  for  which 


20 


he  composed  the  charming  biographies  of  La  Salle, 
Ribault,  Pulaski,  Benedict  Arnold,  Father  Mar- 
quette,  Charles  Lee,  and  Ethan  Allen. 

Meanwhile,  his  attention  to  the  great  work — 
the  Life  and  Writings  of  Washington — never 
flagged.  Of  course,  the  labor  of  careful  selection, 
arrangement,  and  illustration  was  immense.  His 
apartment  in  Ashburton  Place,  Boston,  was  cov- 
ered from  floor  to  ceiling  with  volumes  and  pack- 
ages ;  nor  did  he  ever  leave  it  until  his  completed 
task  of  ten  or  twelve  hours'  work,  freed  him,  after 
night,  for  a  healthful  wTalk  and  a  refreshing  visit 
to  friends.  Ten  of  these  busy  years  were  thus 
spent  in  the  preparation,  printing,  and  publication 
of  the  Life  and  Writings  of  Washington,  which 
was  finally  given  to  the  world,  volume  by  volume, 
between  1834  and  1837,  in  twelve  stout  octavos, 
at  a  cost,  I  understand,  of  about  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  In  1840,  appeared  his  other 
great  national  book,  the  Life  and  Works  of  Frank- 
lin, in  ten  massive  octavos,  comprizing,  among 
other  valuable  papers  discovered  by  him,  no  less 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty-three  letters  of  the 
philosopher,  never  before  printed,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-four  not  included  in  any  previous 
edition.  To  this  superb  collection  he  added  the 
"  Life  "  as  far  as  it  had  been  written  by  Franklin 
himself,  and  continued  it,  from  his  own  materials, 
to  the  patriot's  death. 


21 


In  seventeen  years,  and  at  the  age  of  fifty-one, 
he  had  won  the  highest  honors  of  literature,  and 
the  right  to  have  his  name  linked  forever,  through- 
out the  world,  with  the  names  of  Franklin  and 
Washington.  Nor  were  these  honors  less  dear  to 
him  when  he  reflected  that  he  had  reached  the 
mature  age  of  thirty-four  before  he  had  a  real  pur- 
pose in  life,  and  that,  in  spite  of  adverse  fortune,  he 
had  accomplished  his  designs  by  the  force  of  char- 
acter, by  self-denial  and  indomitable  industry. 

In  1852-3,  occurred  the  singular  controversy 
between  Lord  Mahon,  Mr.  W.  B.  Reed,  and  Mr. 
Sparks,  in  regard  to  the  manner  in  which  the  lat- 
ter had  edited  Washington's  Writings.  It  was 
conducted  by  our  late  colleague  with  good  temper 
and  success.  He  vindicated  his  facts  and  plan 
from  all  assaults,  foreign  and  domestic,  and  was, 
doubtless,  vastly  aided  by  the  exact  method  with 
which  his  letters,  documents,  and  references  had 
been  arranged  for  his  great  work.  For,  prepara- 

.. 

tion  was,  at  once,  his  task  and  his  strength.  He 
always  wrote  rapidly  and  alone,  without  the  aid  of 
»an  amanuensis,  as  soon  as  he  was  prepared  to  com- 
pose. He  then  worked  with  great  perfection  and 
ease  to  himself,  because  the  materials  were  not 
only  at  hand  but  thoroughly  digested.  When 
asked  how  long  a  time  would  be  required  by  him 
to  make  an  abridgement  of  his  Life  of  Washing- 
ton, while  he  was  still  busy  with  his  Franklin,  his 


reply  was,  "No  time!"  and  the  printer  never 
waited  for  him  a  moment,  so  keen  and  clear  were 
his  decision  and  sense  of  proportion. 

In  1854,  he  published  the  Correspondence  of  the 
American  Revolution,  in  letters  from  eminent 
men  to  General  Washington  from  the  time  of  his 
taking  command  of  the  army  to  the  end  of  his 
Presidency.  This  valuable  addition  to  his  histori- 
cal series  was  prepared  from  the  original  MSS., 
and  terminated  Mr.  Sparks's  important  contribu- 
tions to  our  national  stores.  It  has  been  said  that 
he  contemplated  a  History  of  the  Foreign  Diplo- 
macy of  the  Revolution,  and  it  is  quite  certain  that 
he  intended  to  write  a  HISTORY  OF  THE  REVOLU- 
TION, itself,  preceding  it,  probably,  by  several  vol- 
umes on  our  Colonial  history.  As  I  heard  Mr. 
Irving  once  say  that  the  biography  of  Washington 
was  not  a  task  to  his  liking,  for  "  he  had  no  private 
life"  to  give  it  the  personal  interest  essential  to 
secure  the  reader's  sympathy;  so  it  may  truly  be 
said,  from  the  constant  publicity  of  the  Chief's 
career,  that  his  life,  during  most  of  it,  was  the  life 
of  his  country.  Nevertheless,  Mr.  Sparks  felt  that 
it  was,  in  truth,  biography  and  not  history,  and 
he  sought  a  more  extended  field,  for  which  he  con- 
sidered his  powers  to  be,  as  doubtless  they  were, 
entirely  equal.  His  collection  of  materials  for  this 
purpose  -was  rich,  completed,  and  bound  in  vol- 


23 


umes ;  but  his  noble  intention  was,  unfortunately, 
frustrated,  and  with  it  perished  his  most  cherished 
hope.  He  always  regretted  his  inability  to  go  on 
with  this  work.  All  his  other  publications,  valu- 
able as  they  were,  in  his  estimation  had  been  but 
preparatory.  In  1850  he  broke  his  right  arm, 
which  was  already  weakened  by  a  neuralgic  affec- 
tion contracted  by  long  years  of  labor  at  the  desk. 
This,  ever  afterwards,  made  the  use  of  a  pen 
extremely  irksome.  Under  the  weight  of  these 
mixed  evils  of  nervous  malady  and  fractured 
limb,  his  task  was  procrastinated ;  yet,  his  patient 
hope  was  profound.  The  conflict  between  the 
desire  to  achieve  and  the  disability  was  so  pain- 
ful, that  the  subject  of  his  projected  History  be- 
came a  sacred  one  among  all  who  were  familiar 
with  him,  and,  even  in  his  family,  it, was  passed 
over  in  silence.  At  times,  he  would  look  at  these 
accumulations  of  years  in  his  library,  with  the 
simple  ejaculation,  "sad,  sad!"  When  others 
alluded  to  them,  he  had  some  light  reply:  "you 
are  a  younger  man;  do  you  work?"  It  was  his 
great  grief  that  the  mine  of  golden  ore  was  at 
hand,  but  that  lie  could  work  no  more.  Yet,  he 
never  ceased  to  be  prepared,  by  adding  constantly 
to  his  materials  ;  and,  even  in  the  last  year  of  his 
life,  he  exclaimed,  at  times,  "  /  think  I  may  soon  go 
on!"  He  never  ceased  to  look  forward  to  the  time 


when  his  infirmity  would  allow  him  to  march  once 
more  in  pursuit  of  what  had  become  the  "  Evan- 
geline  "  of  his  life,  the  only  work  worthy  of  his 
mature  powers : 

"  Something  there  was  in  his  life  incomplete,  imperfect,  unfinished, 
As  if  a  morning  in  June,  with  all  its  music  and  sunshine, 
Suddenly  paused  in  the  sky,  and  fading  slowly,  descended 
Into  the  eust  again,  from  whence  it  late  had  arisen  !  " 

The  rich  collection  he  had  amassed  for  this  His- 
tory of  the  American  Revolution,  carefully  ar- 
ranged and  bound  in  volumes,  was  bequeathed 
to  his  son,  ultimately  to  pass  to  the  Library  of 
Harvard  University.  I  understand  his  heir  has 
already  discharged  the  trust  by  depositing  these 
treasures  in  the  institution  where  their  collector 
designed  they  should  be  permanently  preserved. 

Although  the  life  of  Mr.  Sparks  as  an  author 
may  be  said  to  have  terminated  with  his  last  origi- 
nal publications,  he,  nevertheless,  did  not  withhold 
himself  from  an  active  interest  in  the  cause  of  let- 
ters. He  had  been  appointed  McLean  Professor 
of  Ancient  and  Modern  History  at  Cambridge,  in 
1839  ;  and  for  the  ten  following  years,  in  the  midst 
of  other  work,  performed  the  duties  of  that  chair, 
until,  on  the  resignation  of  President  Edward  Eve- 
rett, his  alma  mater  bestowed  her  highest  honor 
by  electing  him  President  of  Harvard.  This  was 
the  finale  of  a  career  of  successful  labor  extending 
through  thirty-eight  years.  His  Presidcncv  was 


acceptable  as  well  as  popular ;  especially  com- 
manding the  confidence  and  affectionate  respect  of 
the  pupils.  He  was  no  martinet,  but  fostered  the 
manhood  of  the  generation  entrusted  to  his  gov- 
ernment. t  A  friend  who  was  present  in  Cam- 
bridge, and  well  acquainted  with  Mr.  Sparks' s 
administration  of  the  Presidency,  tells  me  that 
its  peculiarity  was  the  parental  character  of  his 
intercourse  with  the  under-graduates.  After  the 
stateliness  of  some  of  his  predecessors,  this  bland 
demeanor  of  the  new  President  alarmed  by  its 
supposed  relaxation  of  a  discipline  which  the  over- 
nice  are  accustomed  to  enforce  by  a  stern  preser- 
vation of  cold  formality ;  yet,  even  the  critics  who 
considered  him  a  little  slack,  did  not  fail  to  see 
that  he  won  the  love  of  all,  while  many  a  poor 
fellow  in  disgrace  felt  quite  inclined  to  bless  a  rod 
which  fell  in  such  sweet  mercy.1 


i  The  Rev.  James  Freeman  Clark  relates  a  characteristic  anecdote  of  Dr.  Sparks's 
demeanor  to  the  Harvard  scholars,  which  is  worthy  of  repetition :  One  of  the  pupils, 
as  he  left  the  recitation-room,  made  a  noise  derisive  of  a  tutor.  The  tutor  stated  the 
fact  to  the  faculty,  with  the  names  of  several,  who,  if  not  guilty,  might  know  the  real 
offender.  They  were  summoned  before  the  faculty,  and  President  Sparks  was  desired 
to  ask  them,  one  by  one,  "  if  they  made  the  noise,  or,  knew  who  made  it  ? "  Dr.  Sparks 
had  previously  said  to  the  faculty  that  they  could  not  expect  to  get  the  information 
thus,  or  suppose  the  boys  would  inform  on  their  fellows;  the  invitation  to  falsehood 
was  too  great.  When  they  came  before  him,  Dr.  S.  addressed  them  to  the  following 
effect:  "I  have  been  requested  by  the  faculty  to  ask  you  if  yon  made,  or,  know  who 
made,  the  disturbance  at  the  close  of  your  recitation.  I  state  to  you  their  request; 
but,  if  you  know  who  made  the  noise,  I  do  not  intend  to  ask  you  to  tell."  The  answers 
were  various  ;  till,  at  length,  one  said :  "  I  did  it.  I  know  I  ought  not  to  have  done  it, 
and  am  sorry.  I  hardly  know  why  I  did  it;  yes,  I  should  say  it  was  because  I  did 
not  like  the  tutor,  who,  I  thought,  had  not  used  me  fairly  in  some  of  my  recitations." 


For  three  years,  the  successor  of  Kirkland, 
Quincy,  and  Everett  held  the  responsible  Presi- 
dency ;  nor,  in  all  that  period  of  watchfulness,  did 
he  ever  forget  or  neglect  the  striving,  indigent  stu- 
dents, who  required  a  helping  hand  in  the  days  of 
their  adversity.  His  works  had  made  him  inde- 
pendent in  fortune,  so  that,  wherever  assistance 
was  needed,  his  was  an  open  but  judicious  hand. 
"  In  the  days  of  his  prosperity,"  it  is  said  by  one 
who  knew  him  well,  "  he  returned  to  his  original 
benefactors  not  only  the  money  he  had  received 
from  them,  but  more  than  the  interest."  On  re- 
signing the  Presidency  of  Harvard  he  retired  to 
the  property  he  owned  in  Cambridge,  where,  in 
the  enjoyment  of  society,  of  favorite  studies,  and 
of  a  large  correspondence  and  intercourse  with 
friends  and  distinguished  strangers,  he  passed  the 
remaining  years  of  a  tranquil  life,  which  ended, 
after  a  short  and  painless  malady,  on  the  14th  of 
March,  1866,  in  the  seventy-seventh  year  of  his 
age.  The  summons  to  eternity  was  sudden ;  but 
the  faith  and  the  life  of  the  veteran  sustained  him 
to  the  close.  As  he  was  consciously  approaching 
it,  "  I  think,"  said  he,  feebly,  "  I  shall  not  recover, 


Having  told  the  truth,  and  acknowledged  his  fault,  Dr.  Sparks  thought  the  youth 
should  be  commended  instead  of  punished  ;  but  the  tutors  outvoted  the  others,  and 
he  was  suspended.  The  President,  however,  wrote  a  note  to  his  father,  saying  he 
considered  it  no  dishonor,  as  young  men  did  not  often  have  such  opportunities  to 
show  themselves  frank  and  noble.  (Memoir  of  Sparks,  HM.  Mag.,  vol.  x.,  p.  153.) 


27 


but  I  am  happy."  And  when  asked  whether  he  was 
rightly  understood  as  saying  he  was  "  happy"  his 
answer  was,  "  certainly  /" 

Mr.  Sparks  was  twice  married ;  first,  in  1832,  to 
Frances  Anne  Allen,  of  Hyde  Park,  New  York, 
who  died  in  1835 ;  and  again,  in  1839,  to  Mary  C. 
Silsbee,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Silsbee,  a  wealthy 
and  honored  merchant  of  Salem,  for  many  years  a 
Senator  of  the  United  States  from  Massachusetts,  as 
colleague  of  Daniel  Webster.  Four  children,  a  son 
and  three  daughters,  all  the  offspring  of  the  second 
marriage,  survive,  with  their  mother,  to  rejoice  in 
the  memory  of  their  illustrious  father. 

The  amount  of  Mr.  Sparks's  literary  labor  and 
its  popular  estimation,  may  be  judged  from  the  fact 
that  more  than  six  hundred  thousand  volumes  of 
his  various  publications  have  been  published  and 
disposed  of. 

In  personal  appearance  Mr.  Sparks  had  a  noble 
presence,  a  firm,  bold,  massive  head,  which,  as  age 
crept  on,  sometimes  seemed  careworn  and  impas- 
sive, but  never  lost  its  intellectual  power.  His  por- 
traits show  that  in  his  prime  his  face  was  remark- 
able 'for  dignified,  manly  beauty.  His  manners 
were  winning ;  and,  though  undemonstrative  and 
rather  reticent  among  strangers,  with  friends,  he 
was  always  cheerful  and  hearty.  He  was  never 
dogmatic,  patronizing  or  repulsive,  by  that  self- 
assertion  into  which  superior  men  are  too  often 
5 


28 


petted  by  the  subservient  deference  of  society.  He 
had  large  social  resources,  but,  withal,  was  modest 
without  being  shy.  His  character  was,  indeed,  a 
perfect  balance  of  charming  qualities.  Though 
moderate  in  the  announcement  of  opinions,  and  too 
patriotic  to  degenerate  into  a  partizan,  he  gave  no 
timid,  lukewarm  support  to  the  nation  in  its  hour 
of  trial.  His  knowledge  of  the  world  was  ample  ; 
but  that  excellent  lore  did  not  always  save  him  from 
the  overreaching,  so  that,  at  one  time,  he  lost  much 
of  the  hard-earned  avails  of  his  labors,  and  though 
not  impoverished,  wras  uncomfortably  straitened. 
Yet,  he  loved  to  be  trustful  and  serviceable;  and, 
what  he  knew,  he  gave  cordially  to  friends,  corres- 
pondents, and  respectful  strangers  who  approached 
him  properly.  He  desired  to  stimulate  the  young 
by  truthful  approbation,  and,  from  his  recognized 
eminence,  to  bestow  the  "  nutritious  praise  of  vete- 
ran talent."  He  was  never  spoken  of  lightly. 
Large  and  active  as  was  his  mind,  "  his  heart," 
unlike  Fontenelle's,  was  not  "made  of  his  brains." 
He  was  as  pure,  affectionate,  and  charitable  a  man 
in  all  his  relations,  as  he  was  eminent  in  the  litera- 
ture he  created  and  consecrated  to  his  country. 

An  author's  life  is  commonly  a  catalogue  of  his 
works.  The  career  of  a  scholar  is  generally  un- 
eventful, seldom  possessing  those  stirring  traits 
which  give  dramatic  interest  to  public  characters 


of  less  quiet  pursuits.  Mr.  Sparks  was  not  an 
exception  to  this  rule.  His  life  is  in  his  works ; 
for,  as  long  as  he  could  work  well  he  was  a  worker 
for  his  country. 

The  few  and  simple  facts  I  have  told  of  this 
gentle  student's  struggles  and  success,  show  that, 
his  labors  were  mostly  in  the  field  of  History. 
But,  the  field  of  History  is  large  and  sub-divided. 
It  comprehends  Annals,  Chronicles,  Memoirs,  Bi- 
ography; and  these  —  the  essence  of  the  past — 
become  the  elements  from  which  an  artist  endowed 
with  disciplined  judgment  and  combining  imagina- 
tion, shapes  the  master-pieces  which  are  properly 
called  by  the  generic  name,  History. 

It  has  been  usual  to  associate  the  name  of  'Mr. 
Sparks  with  those  of  Bancroft,  Prescott,  Motley, 
and  Irving ;  yet,  the  qualities  of  these  writers,  as 
well  as  the  tasks  they  set  themselves,  seem  to  me 
quite  different  from  those  of  our  late  associate. 

If  History  may  be  properly  defined,  as  I  think 
it  should  be — a  narrative  of  national  life,  claiming 
the  utmost  comprehension  of  fact,  date,  description, 
biography,  annals,  and  chronicle,  woven  together 
with  brilliant  analysis  and  wholesome  philosophy, 
—  I  hope  I  may  not  be  considered  unjust  in  the 
opinion  that,  as  yet,  our  country  has  but  one  writer 
who  will  be  classed  with  Hume  and  Gibbon.  This 
is  certainly  no  disparagement  of  others,  for  it  is, 


30 


probably,  the  result  of  extent  of  aim  rather  than  of 
quality  or  power.  No  American,  of  acknowledged 
superiority,  has  yet  equalled  George  Bancroft  in 
the  breadth  of  his  theme,  the  extent  of  time  and 
place  covered,  the  variety  of  character,  circum- 
stance, and  nationality  concerned,  the  correspond- 
ing research,  the  sparkling  story,  and  the  philo- 
sophic analysis  of  his  National  History. 

Prescott,  the  prince  of  scholars  and  gentlemen, 
matchless  in  the  department  he  chose,  was  rather 
a  biographer  than  a  historian.  He  selected  stirring 
epochs  and  their  prominent  men,  the  pivots  of  cer- 
tain times,  upon  whom  the  affairs  of  two  worlds 
turned  at  critical  periods, — the  great  warders  who 
stood  at  the  portals  of  America  and  Europe  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  Thus,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 
Cortez,  Pizarro,  Charles  V.,  and  Philip  II.,  won- 
derfully as  they  revive  in  the  books  of  Prescott, 
exquisite  in  accuracy,  harmonious  style,  and  enam- 
elled finish,  are  but  beautiful  cabinet-pictures  of 
the  princes  and  heroes  of  the  age.  The  Life  of  a 
Nation  requires  a  taller  and  wider  canvas,  a  bolder 
and  broader  brush.  And,  so  it  is  with  the  histori- 
cal labors  of  Irving  and  Motley,  though  the  latter 
has  closely  approached  the  true  grandeur  of  His- 
tory in  his  narrative  of  the  Rise  of  the  Dutch 
Republic.  Yet,  it  must  ever  remain  as  the  high- 
est praise  of  our  late  colleague,  that,  in  the  field  of 


31 


national  biographies,  national  in  all  their  elements, 
he  stands  beside  the  masters  on  the  platform  of  ac- 
knowledged success.  He  was  the  real  pioneer  in 
the  unexplored  wilderness  of  our  historical  litera- 
ture. "  Indeed,"  says  one  familiar  with  his  works, 
"it  requires  considerable  knowledge  on  the  part  of 
a  reader,  a  knowledge  of  the  state  of  things,  of  the  ob- 
stacles and  perplexities,  in  the  way  of  effort,  and  of  the 
hard  conditions  of  success,  at  the  time  when  Mr.  Sparks 
gave  himself  to  his  large  and  costly  enterprise,  in  order 
that  his  eminent  devotion  and  success  may  be,  even 
in  degree,  appreciated."  But  he  brought  together 
the  dispersed  fragments  of  colonial  and  revolution- 
ary days,  and  made  the  writing  of  history  un- 
troublesome  for  authors  wrho,  in  "  slippered  ease  " 
and  comfortable  libraries,  availed  themselves  of  his 
labor,  and  patronizingly  patted  him  on  the  head. 
These  are  the  silk-worms  of  literature,  whose  glory 
is  spun  from  the  digested  leaves  of  other  men's 
culture.  It  was  his  habit,  when  allusions  were 
made  to  such  appropriations,  to  find  sufficient 
reward  in  his  own  diligence,  and  to  comfort  him- 
self for  this  "way  of  the  world"  by  a  patient  shrug 
and  a  pinch  of  snuff.1  Irving,  in  his  advanced  life, 


1  No  candid  student  in  lauding  Mr.  Sparks,  should  fail  to  acknowledge  our  debt  of 
gratitude  to  PETER  FORCE,  for  his  vast  and  successful  labors  in  recovering  and  render- 
ing accessible  the  large  stores  of  materials  for  American  history  and  biography  con- 
tained in  the  "American  Archives." 


could  never  have  written  his  Washington,  had  not 
Sparks  organized  his  twelve  volumes  of  materials, 
and  analysed  them  in  the  biography.  That  work 
must  be  studied,  in  order  to  be  appreciated  in  rela- 
tion to  Mr.  Sparks' s  literary  merit :  it  is  a  mine  of 
editorial  tact  and  industry,  displaying  the  mathe- 
matical spirit  of  the  author  in  its  method  and 
organization,  in  its  lucid  statements,  and  in  his 
sagacious  perception  of  the  value  of  what  was 
retained  and  the  worthlessness  of  what  was  re- 
jected, so  that  Washington  is  self-shown  to  the 
hereafter  by  what  he  thought,  and  wrote,  and  did. 
The  commendation  bestowed  on  Mr.  Sparks,  in 
the  masterly  eulogium  of  Mr.  Haven  before  the 
American  Antiquarian  Society,  may  be  taken  as 
a  wise  and  exact  definition  of  his  labors  in  the 
field  of  History :  "  Not  that  Mr.  Sparks,"  said  he, 
"  limited  himself  to  the  preparation  and  preser- 
vation of  history  in  bulk ;  for  he  was  equally  able 
in  narrative,  in  criticism,  and  in  controversy, — 
he  was  an  essayist  as  well  as  a  compiler ;  but 
the  last  was  his  forte,  his  peculiar  field  of  use- 
fulness and  eminence,  where,  it  may  be  said,  he 
reigns  supreme." 

This  estimate  of  Mr.  Sparks  by  his  friend  does 
not  classify  him  with  the  annalist  and  chronicler 
who  build  up  a  fleshless  skeleton  of  facts  and  dates. 
Nothing  could  be  less  just  to  the  subject  or  the 


33 


commentator.  Imagination  was  not  a  predomi- 
nant quality  of  Mr.  Sparks's  mind.  Its  cool  pre- 
cision so  curbed  the  exercise  of  the  ideal  faculty 
that  it  was  unjustly  subdued  if  not  absolutely 
stifled ;  and  thus  we  do  not  always  discern  in  him 
that  creative  power,  so  rarely  found  combined  with 
sagacity  in  gathering  and  marshalling  details, 
which,  while  it  apprehends  the  true  relation  of 
men  and  circumstances,  masses  the  historic  groups 
with  picturesque  effect,  delineates  character  with 
intuitive  insight,  gives  soul  to  the  moving  drama 
of  national  life,  and  vividly  realizes  the  scenes 
and  personages  of  the  past.  But,  if  he  was  not 
so  brilliant  in  description  as  others,  or  in  the 
majestic  and  harmonious  march  of  his  story,  or 
in  keen  scrutiny  of  character,  he  unquestionably 
excelled  in  ample,  direct,  and  truthful  statement, 
so  that  his  narrative  was  not  only  transparent  in 
the  fulness  of  detail,  but  the  detail  itself  disclosed 
its  philosophic  lesson.  No  man  can  charge  him 
with  hasty  or  capricious  censure.  He  was  always 
the  careful  protector  of  human  reputation,  dealing 
with  the  unresisting  and  undefending  dead  as  their 
advocate  as  well  as  righteous  judge ;  reluctant  to 
condemn  by  argument  or  inference,  and  never 
unless  the  proved  facts  were  irresistible.  He  stu- 
diously discarded  all  that  might  either  attract  or 
detract  by  fancy  or  elaborate  discussion ;  in  a 


34 


word,  he  shunned  ambitions  rhetoric,  so  perilous 
to  solid  judgments,  and  so  often  giving  false  color 
to  historical  portraits,  for  he  knew  the  risk  of 
losing  the  reliable  in  the  brilliant.  In  his  style, 
he  was  an  artless  artist,  if  there  is  truth  in  Thacke- 
ray's observation,  that  the  "true  artist  makes  you 
think  of  a  great  deal  more  than  the  objects  before 
you."  His  extreme  calmness  may  have,  some- 
times, made  him  cold ;  yet,  by  conforming  him- 
self to  plain  forms  of  language,  he  always  aimed 
to  convey  the  absolute  truth,  which  he  regarded 
as  the  coveted  prize  of  history.  For  history,  to 
his  mind,  was  a  serious  thing,  not  a  melodramatic 
tale,  and  he  wrote  it  as  he  would  have  delivered 
testimony  in  the  presence  of  God.  His  desire  was 
that  the  fact  and  not  the  form  should  fascinate  and 
teach ;  because  the  fact  was  permanent  and  inde- 
pendent, the  form  flexible  and  voluntary.  JSTo  one 
knew  better  or  more  dreaded  the  risk  of  biasing- 
opinion  by  over  or  understatements  concerning 
the  conspicuous  persons  of  whom  he  wrote.  If  his 
theme  was  not  so  large  as  Mr.  Bancroft's,  he  still 
felt  that  both  addressed  the  American  nation  in 
words  that  were  to  last,  concerning  the  founders  of 
our  political  system  and  the  Chief  who  presided  at 
the  foundation.  What  he  recorded  was  to  form 
the  opinions  of  posterity,  and  thus,  not  merely  to 
influence  but  virtually  to  become  a  principle  of 


action  for  his  countrymen  in  relation  to  the  great 
things  that  concern  patriots.  Enthusiastic,  yet, 
never  excited ;  patient,  and  devoid  of  partizanship ; 
he  had  the  rare  faculty  of  writing  so  fairly  of  men 
of  a  near  period  that  his  books  were  satisfactory  to 
every  one,  save  Lord  Mahon.  He  never  wrote  a 
sentence  that  was  not  in  the  interest  of  his  wrhole 
country.  He  was  so  calmly  judicial  in  temper, 
that  he  found  it  easy  to  convert  himself  into  what 
Madame  de  Stael  so  happily  called  "  contempora- 
neous posterity." 

His  life  demonstrates  that  cultivated  talents, 
independent  self-respect,  and  industry  in  intel- 
lectual pursuits,  not  only  secure  reputation  but 
fortune.  It  is  a  plea  for  wholesome  literature  in 
our  land.  Literature,  though  never  a  speculation 
in  his  hands,  was,  as  he  conducted  it,  a  successful 
enterprise.  His  career  was  charmingly  rounded 
by  honor,  prosperity,  and  the  love  of  mankind. 
In  all  respects  it  was  a  requited  life.  Be  it  said, 
with  reverence,  that,  considering  the  difference  of 
their  fields,  there  is  a  singular  concord  between 
the  virtues  and  common  sense  of  Washington  and 
Sparks,  and  hence  the  sympathetic  veneration  of 
the  Author  for  the  Hero.  If  I  attempted  to  char- 
acterize him  briefly,  I  might  say  that  he  attained 
all  the  ends  of  an  ambitious  life  without  being,  at 
any  time,  ambitious.  He  was  certainly  not  devoid 


6 


36 

of  a  love  of  approbation,  but  it  was  not  the  selfish 
end  for  which  he  wrought;  for,  with  him,  appro- 
bation bestowed  was  only  a  recognition  of  the  fact 
that  his  endeavor  to  be  a  good  and  useful  man 
had  been  successful. 

"  DlGNUM    LAUDE    VIRUM    MUSA    VETAT    MORI." 


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